This is more for fun, as the coin isn't slabbed. About 75% of ancients collectors have this attitude towards slabbing: (the media embed didn't work) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/G4tzXrG4o2I Gordian III - AE Sestertius - 34mm, 23.57g, 12h - RIC IV 290a The coin is a Sestertius of Gordian III. I'm a collector of patinas, and I couldn't pass up this very different patina, especially with the coin's cheap price. It happened to come with an ID tag from a pre-1990's Italian dealer. The purpose is to show how relatively unimportant stated grade is to ancients collectors. This coin certainly isn't one of my showpieces, more of a curiosity. Guess the grade! I guess, within reason, there's no right answer. (and the MS grades don't apply). There's poor/fair/good/very good/fine/extremely fine/FDC. This one is difficult. If the coin had perfect surfaces, it would be relatively easy. The state of preservation makes it much more difficult.Does one grade by wear,etc? I could have gone 10/10 difficult and chosen a Byzantine AE. A bonus pic is a Gordian III with a really pretty and difficult-to-find patina: I have a really spectacular example, with no brown crud (the brown crud seems to go hand-in-hand with aqua patinas), but it was too much trouble to resize the picture.
It's somewhat obscured by the heavy patina, but there is wear around the ear/laurel crown of the obverse. The second pic was more of a patina illustration, not a GTG. Probably not germane to the grade, but I also bought the first one for the unusually large/heavy flan. The bottom coin was also an order throw-in, purchased purely for the patina. The top one is more of a variegated olive patina in-hand. The bottom, aqua, patina is usually indicative of swamps and boggy areas.
I forgot to add, with ancient grading one can have half-grades, like Fine plus (or about VF - both of which are the same thing).
Any other guesses before I reveal what I would have graded it? I bought the coin as an oddity and learning experience.
On my excel spreadsheet I graded the original coin (the top picture) aVF by wear, corroded. A 1990's fixed price list probably would have listed it as F, corroded. This Sestertius is aVF also, but has much better surfaces and an exceptional patina. I was entranced with this coin the minute I saw it and is my favorite buy from the past two years. It's a lovely coin and was only about 70 bucks more than the corroded one. Of all my exceptional patinas, Gordian III shows up disproportionately, both provincial and imperial. It could be the metal makeup, find location (most of the cool patinas seem to come from the Balkans, and Sicily), or either. I suppose most would grade this one VF. It does fit the David Van Meter description of VF, at least two-thirds of the hair visible. Q. Cassius Longinus - 55 BC - AR Denarius - 17mm, 3.60g, ob Bonus Eventus, Rx Eagle lovely but Rx gash The Longinus denarius is another example of why it is relatively difficult to slap a grade on ancients. The reverse damage, which I initially assumed was due to farm machinery, was probably an ancient damnatio memoriae, i.e. ancient damage. I'd rate it VF+/VF by wear. The artistry is is lovely and the toning is exquisite. This piece also happens to be my second favorite buy of the same period. It's not the best preserved, nor is it the most expensive. The personal satisfaction is off the charts, though. Ancient coins all came out of the ground. While there's certainly some which could be assigned cut-and-dry grades, it's not that easy for a huge chunk of ancients. There's so many factors to consider; preservation, wear, strike, toning/patina, artistic merit, etc.
